Mini Thoughts

Hello, all!

Pub Date: 2-5-19
Adult - Thriller

The Silent Patient- Alex Michaelides: To the outside world, Alicia Berenson had a perfect life. She was a successful painter married to an even more famous photographer, living in a grand house in London. But one night, Alicia is found covered in blood and standing over her husband who had been shot five times. Alicia's refusal to speak about the events or give any sort of explanation landed her in The Grove, a small private facility for psychiatric patients. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who's determined to work with Alicia, believing he can break down her walls and finally get to the bottom of what happened all those years ago. As Theo begins to unravel the mystery, it's clear his motives aren't strictly professional and that he has secrets of his own that he'll do whatever it takes to keep hidden.

After reading and loving The Maidens, I was highly looking forward to this one, and I did enjoy it but nowhere near as much. A lot of that had to do with Theo. I disliked him right from the start. I found him to be arrogant and pretentious and didn't like reading from his perspective at all. He has this raging savior complex which gets more and more disturbing as the story goes on. You can tell there's something off about him, and there were little hints peppered throughout showing his true nature and how he may not be the man he presents himself to be, but you can't figure out why. He has this obsession with Alicia that goes beyond professional interest, and I liked using their interactions along with Alicia's diaries to try and connect the dots as to how they were all connected. You're going into this knowing that there's going to be some massive plot twist, and about halfway through, you can start to tell how it's going to play out, but even so, I still enjoyed it. That was what saved this book for me. I didn't find myself fully invested in the story until the twist came about, and then I was in it and wanted to see how it would all wrap up. While I didn't love this as much as his second book, I'd still recommend it if you're a thriller fan.

Rating: 3/5

Pub Date: 3-2-21
Adult - Mystery

Finlay Donovan is Killing It- Elle Cosimano: To say that Finlay Donovan is at the end of her rope would be an understatement. She's a stressed-out single mother trying to balance writing her newest novel with taking care of her two young kids after her ex-husband let go of their nanny without telling her. When a woman overhears Finlay talking to her literary agent about her latest crime novel, she believes Finlay to be a contract killer and offers her a large sum of money to kill her husband that Finlay inadvertently accepts. Soon, Finlay finds herself left with a body she didn't kill and entangled in a real-life murder investigation that hits a little too close to home. Can Finley and her ex-nanny-turned-accomplice Vero uncover the true killer before they become the next target or land themselves behind bars?

The hype for this book is well-deserved. It's funny, fast-paced, witty, and Finlay just trying to make ends meet is so relatable. That said, I didn't love this as much as everyone else seemed to, only because it's so farfetched. I couldn't wrap my head around all these over-the-top situations that Finlay kept finding herself in. You have to suspend your disbelief in a book like this, but I just thought it was so improbable. Aside from that, I did actually like this. I enjoyed Finlay and her relationship with Vero and thought they were so funny together, and Cosimano's writing was easy to fall into that I read this all in almost one sitting. The cliffhanger at the end was a nice twist as well. Even though I didn't love this as much as I'd hoped, it was still very entertaining and I'll probably pick the next one up.

Rating: 3.5/5

Pub Date: 7-20-21
Adult - Contemporary

My Cone and Only- Susannah Nix: Andie Lockhart has had a crush on Wyatt King for as long as she can remember but has come to terms with the fact that he'll never see her as anything but his best friend's little sister. She has to watch as he flirts his way through all the women in their small town, all the while trying to hide the fact that she desperately wishes she could be the one he lavishes his attention on. What Andie doesn't know is that Wyatt has harbored feelings for her just as long as she has for him, but a promise to her brother when they were young has kept him from ever acting on his urges. When a real estate developer threatens to take away Andie's beloved house she inherited from her grandma, Wyatt is determined to help her. As the pair spend every waking moment together fixing the old house up, it becomes increasingly harder to hide their feelings from one another, and after a mind-blowingly great kiss one night, why should they? Andie is elated when Wyatt returns her feelings but will the promise he made to her brother ruin their chances at love before it even begins?

Much like Andie and her favorite ice cream flavor, I ate this book up! I read it in a day because I didn't want to put it down. This was my first book by Nix, but it definitely won't be the last. Her writing was so easy to fall into and I was fully charmed by her characters and the small town vibes she created. The banter between Andie and Wyatt was everything, and I loved how the transition from friends to something more was so effortless and natural. Not to mention their chemistry was off the charts. It was also so satisfying watching Wyatt open up to Andie and become more vulnerable about himself and his insecurities. I did get a little annoyed with just how ridiculously overprotective Andie's brother was regarding her love life but other than that, I couldn't get enough of this and will be counting down the days until the next book.

Rating: 4.5/5

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